WILLIAMSBURG, VA -- Chuck Smith, 23-year resident of Williamsburg, has written and released his first book, Stories from Potomac County: Truths, Half-Truths, and Lies from Rural Virginia and Someplace Else.

The collection of nine humorous and bittersweet short stories brings to life a range of characters from a first-grader to an eccentric old man and his dog. The longest, at 122 pages, is a richly-drawn account of a young woman's search for a place to call home.

According to Smith, western Virginia's rural environment and rich diversity of places and people strongly influenced the settings, situations, and people of the fictional Potomac County. He says, "Growing up in Rappahannock county with a population of less than 8,000 gave me the opportunity to observe the peculiarities of our rural life in many forms. In that environment, everyone associated with everyone, from the landed gentry to the working-class poor. Our family friends were farmers, bankers, hunters, bus drivers, orchardists, auto dealers, teachers, newspaper reporters and county officials as well as the county n'er-do-wells."

While in high school, Smith worked summers and weekends at Big Meadows on the Skyline Drive in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Then known as Charlie, the 1963 Rappahannock County High School graduate "went on to have a short and totally unsuccessful college experience." Like many of his contemporaries, Chuck was drafted into the Army and "given a free trip to southeast Asia."

His writing has been enriched by exposure to people of diverse backgrounds and interests. After serving two years in Vietnam, he embarked on a series of occupations: long-haul Teamster truck driver, radio announcer, broadcast engineer in radio and television, Emmy-nominated sound mixer, and satellite uplink operator for broadcast programming. He retired in February 2016 from Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's educational television department to write full-time.

While working at Colonial Williamsburg, Smith met his editor and publisher, Claire Gould. "With an economy of words, Chuck weaves vibrantly-drawn characters and surprising plots into stories that are hard to put down," Gould said.

According to the author, "I've noticed and been fascinated by people who are - like me - a little off-center. I like imagining how they got that way and that may work its way into a story."

Smith and his wife Sharon and their two dogs live in Williamsburg, Virginia. They have two adult human children - Emily in Hampton, Virginia and Jeremiah in Rosedale, Mississippi - and many grand-dogs.

Stories from Potomac County: Truths, Half-Truths, and Lies from Rural Virginia and Someplace Else is available through www.Lulu.com/spotlight/PotomacCounty in print or as a download.